Sensors & Wearables

Tiny Sensor Could Transform Head Injury Detection

A tiny sensor detects hazardous head impacts the instant they occur could reshape safety monitoring in sports, transportation and other high-risk settings. The device, developed by...

Overcoming Thermal Latency: A Passive Architecture for High-Flux Imaging

By shifting from active cooling (pumps) to passive buffering (sorption), medical device engineers can close the thermal latency gap. This approach eliminates the need for forced cooldown cycles, enabling continuous duty cycles for high-flux modalities and significantly improving the return on assets for hospital operators. Read on to learn more.

Product Focus: Sensors

See where the product focus is this month: Sensors.

Center to Develop Wearable Ultrasound Imaging for Real-Time Monitoring of Chronic Conditions

The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology has launched a new collaborative research project — Wearable Imaging for Transforming Elderly Care (WITEC). Read on to learn more about it.

Highly Sensitive Wearable Pressure Sensors Inspired by Cat Whiskers

This bioinspired design marks a significant step toward development of eco-friendly and highly sensitive wearable sensors, with broad potential in sports analytics and biomedical monitoring. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Monitors Heart Rate Recovery to Predict Risk

Scientists used a “smart” shirt equipped with an electrocardiogram to track participants’ heart-rate recovery after exercise and developed a tool for analyzing the data to predict...

Printable Nanoparticles Enable Mass Produced Biosensors

Engineers have developed a technique for inkjet printing arrays of special nanoparticles that enables the mass production of long-lasting wearable sweat sensors. These sensors could be...

Oxygen Scavenger Doubles Biosensor Performance

Researchers have developed an oxygen scavenger that consumes excess oxygen by converting it into water. Crucially, this alcohol oxidase does not react with the actual target substances —...

Stryker's Robert Cohen Named Chair of AdvaMed’s Digital Health Tech Division Board of Directors 

Robert Cohen, vice president, innovation and technology, orthopaedic group at Stryker, has been named the next chair of the AdvaMed Digital Health Tech Board of Directors. He succeeds Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, global chief science and technology officer at GE HealthCare, who served as the inaugural chair of the board overseeing the then-newly created division. Read on to learn more.

Electronic Fiber Provides Stretchable Sensing

EPFL researchers have engineered a fiber-based electronic sensor that remains functional even when stretched to over 10 times its original length. The device holds promise for smart textiles, physical rehabilitation devices, and soft robotics. Read on to learn more about it.

Biosensor Could Lead to Breath Test for Lung Cancer

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed biosensor technology that when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) shows promise for detecting lung cancer through breath analysis. Read on to learn more.

Multifunctional ANF/Mxene-Enhanced Hydrogels for Flexible EMI Shielding and Wearable Sensing Applications

Researchers from Harbin Institute of Technology and their collaborators have developed a multifunctional polyelectrolyte hydrogel reinforced with aramid nanofibers (ANFs) and MXene nanosheets, achieving outstanding performance in absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and wearable sensing. Read on to learn more.

Wearables: Controlling Machines on the Move

Engineers have developed a next-generation wearable system that enables people to control machines using everyday gestures — even while running, riding in a car, or floating on turbulent ocean waves. Read on to learn more about it.

Biosensor Identifies Protein Linked to Depression

A low-cost, portable biosensor can quickly identify a protein whose altered levels are associated with psychiatric disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. When it becomes commercially available in the future, it may contribute to early detection, which is essential for treating and monitoring patients’ clinical conditions. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Health Tech Brings Research to People

Researchers are exploring new ways to utilize microwave technology in monitoring and assessing health conditions. The results of experiments conducted with realistic models are promising. Bras that detect breast cancer, leg sleeves that identify blood clots, and a helmet that monitors the effects of radiation therapy offer a glimpse into what future healthcare might look like. Read on to learn more.

Wireless Patch Enables Early Cancer Detection

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking, battery-free wearable patch that could help detect skin cancer earlier and more accurately, potentially saving lives by making screening more...

2025 Product of the Year

Voting for Medical Design Briefs’ 2025 Annual Readers’ Choice Product of the Year Awards is now closed. Winners will be announced in the March issue of Medical Design Briefs magazine.

Pill-Sized Bioprinter Can Be Guided to Disease Site

Engineers have created the first ingestible bioprinter that can be guided to disease sites to print tissue within the body. Called MEDS (Magnetic Endoluminal Deposition System), the...

The Impact of Wearables on Healthcare

Listen to the new season of the Medical Design Briefs podcast. These four episodes focus on the impact of wearables on healthcare.

Metamaterial Could Transform Ingestible and Implantable Medical Devices

Researchers, led by Rice University’s Yong Lin Kong, have developed a soft but strong metamaterial that can be controlled remotely to rapidly transform its size and shape. The invention, published in Science Advances, represents a significant advancement that can potentially transform ingestible and implantable medical devices. Read on to learn more about it.

Smart Patch Runs Tests Using Sweat Instead of Blood

A KAIST research team has developed a smart patch that can precisely observe internal changes through sweat when simply attached to the body. This is expected to greatly contribute to the advancement of chronic disease management and personalized healthcare technologies. Read on to learn more.

Understanding Sensors for Medical Pump Technology

Medical pumps are at the heart of modern healthcare delivery. Their success depends on precise, reliable, and safe operation — capabilities enabled by advanced sensor technologies. From occlusion detection to bubble monitoring and temperature control, sensors provide the intelligence that allows pumps to perform with confidence in critical care environments. Read on to learn more.

Self-Cleaning Sweat Sensors Offer Comfortable Monitoring

Researchers have developed novel ISM-based sweat sensors that feature enhanced signal stability and performance and avoid skin contact, while also being reusable, making them practical for daily use. Read on to learn more.

3D Printed Smart Pen Helps Diagnose Parkinson’s

Researchers have developed a smart, self-powered magnetoelastic pen that could help detect early signs of Parkinson’s by analyzing a person’s handwriting. The highly sensitive diagnostic pen features a soft, silicon magnetoelastic tip and ferrofluid ink — a special liquid containing tiny magnetic particles. Read on to learn more about it.

Infant Wearable Uses Artificial Intelligence for At-Home Assessments

During the first two years of life, the motor development of children is monitored closely, as motion is the natural base for their other development and interaction with the environment. Current methods do not allow accurate developmental monitoring throughout early childhood. MAIJU (Motor Assessment of Infants with a Jumpsuit) is designed to solve these problems. Read on to learn more about it.

The Promise and Challenge of On-Body Biosensors: A Perspective on Clinical Utility and Commercial Viability in Patient Management

On-body biosensors have crossed the threshold from technological novelty to clinical tool driving medical decisions. The most successful devices share common traits: They provide clinically actionable information, reliably measure rapidly changing biomarkers, account for confounding variables, and utilize established reimbursement pathways. Read on to learn more about them.

Science

What wearable medical device uses tumor-treating fields delivered through adhesive transducer arrays to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer?

The New Medtech Frontier

The next phase of medical device innovation will be defined by systems that are not only responsive but also autonomous and personalized. Read on to learn more.